She said, She said...

Conflict is vital to fiction.  No one wants to read a story about happy people who have their lives figured out.  How boring.  And people expect authenticity in the stories they read.  Everyone has issues in life.  Everyone's struggling to work through their problems.  People read fiction both to escape their own lives for a moment and to get lost in a world of other people's problems.


Conflict comes in different forms: with self, with others, with the environment, with society, etc.  Today, because I'm chin deep in conflict with another person in my inner circle, I'll only talk about conflict with others.  Hey, blogging is cheaper than therapy.


When crafting conflict between two characters, keep in mind that there will be more going on besides the central problem facing the characters.  Hone in on the characters' fundamental differences.  Consider the things in their personalities that are inherently contradictory, the things neither see as a problem nor think should be changed.  These are the things that complicate problem-solving and contribute to convincing conflict.


For example, you have a central problem brewing between Character #1 and Character #2, perhaps one accused the other of betraying her confidence in some way.  You can deepen the fictional problem by mimicking reality.  In real life, people hold against each other certain aspects of their personalities or psyches, which become factors when trying to resolve the central problem. 


What if Character #1 is a person who was so affected by her chaotic upbringing, that she developed a strong work ethic, an appreciation for material objects she worked hard to obtain, and a low tolerance for disorganization in herself and others.  Enter the second character, who is spoiled by a life of ease and financial abundance, so that Character #2 is careless with her belongings since there will always be a maid to clean up behind her or a credit card to replace what's missing or broken.  These characters are dealing with a breech in confidence, but their fundamental differences, in real life, would come into play.  Write them into your fiction and you'll have a riveting, believable conflict.


One possible direction to take this example is to have Character #2 feel justified in breaking confidence, because Character #1 is, in her opinion, a judgmental witch.  You could write frustration into Character #1, who feels that Character #2 always plays the "judgement" card.  Character #1 would have been exasperated in the past with Character #2's habitual behavior: always late for get-togethers, forgets to wish Character #1 a happy birthday year after year, offers Character #1 the guest bedroom that's normally where the dog lives (shed fur everywhere, smelly and stained rug, etc.), etc.  Character #2 would, in turn, hate always feeling like she has to apologize for herself to "Miss Perfect" Character #1.


Real life is like this, isn't it?  When there's conflict between people, a fight never stays within the perimeters of the immediate problem.  The past gets dragged into it, personalities and "isms" come into play, and anger just stirs up old, smoldering coals until a new bonfire is blazing.


Conflict in fiction that feels the most authentic mimics real life.  It pays in the long run to spend time writing scenes or short stories about the characters' past interactions, their history together, and the reasons they act and react the way they do in the present.  Even if you don't use those stories verbatim in the novel, your knowledge of the characters' experiences, in life in general and in their history together, will create realistic conflicts and problem-solving.  Readers will readily buy into the characters' predicaments when they mirror both the compassion and the ugly realities of interpersonal relationships.


In preparation of a new WiP, do you write short fiction or vignettes about your characters' experiences outside the time frame of the novel?  Do you write from each character's first person POV, (despite the eventual POV choices of the novel), letting them talk about the other characters?  Is writing therapeutic for you, too?

Don't Be Blue

Me: Do you want milk on your cereal, sweetie?


Sidney: Yes, please.  Mama?  You look tired.


Me:  I'm just a little sad.  I found out this morning one of my short stories was rejected by a literary magazine.


Sidney:  Oh Mama!  It's okay.  When you're a writer, that happens.  You just gotta be sad for two minutes, then get on up to the next one and be happy.


Pretty good advice, from a ten year old.  There are a lot of things going on right now, bad and hurtful things, things out of my control. Draining my energy.  Zapping my creativity.  The magazine rejection is the latest, though easiest of them all to manage.


But, Sidney's right.  Sometimes, being happy is a choice to make.  Rather than give in to the sadness, the feelings of helplessness and despair, I can power through what I can't change, channeling every force in my heart with intention.  Staying positive, standing tall.  Life's too short to wallow in the negative.


Sidney lifted my spirits with her support.  Now, I'm off to cheer her on through her fourth grade's Field Day.  Sack races, water balloon wars, wet washcloth relays -- all under a cloudless, cerulean sky ruled by the hot, Georgian sun.  May children's laughter sate my soul.


I look forward to reading your blogs this afternoon.  In the meantime, do writers respond to rejection letters, form or personal, from literary magazines? What about rejection letters from agents and publishers?  Any advice is greatly appreciated!

(Artwork by Steve Keefer)

Enter my Spread the Awesome contest -- ends tomorrow!  DETAILS HERE

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Spread the Awesome!

to Spread the Awesome!

Elana Johnson had the inspired idea to organize a one-day blog series where participating bloggers choose a book which they love, to promote by sharing its merits with the rest of you!  Isn't she brilliant?  I've chosen Among the Hidden, by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Spread the Awesome blog series is organized as a round-robin, so that once you've finished here you can click the link at the end of this post to go to the next participating blog. 

Enter MY CONTEST at the bottom of this post to win a cool prize!

Margaret Peterson Haddix describes the plot of Among the Hidden on her website like this:

    "Luke has never been to school. He's never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend's house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend.

    Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He's lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family's farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside.

    Then, one day Luke sees a girl's face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he's met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows--does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?"


I was introduced to Among the Hidden after my fourth grade daughter read it for her school library's Battle of the Books challenge.  Sidney loved it, saying the characters were people she really cared about. She said the ending was "so good!" and couldn't wait for me to finish so we could talk about it.  She only had to wait one day.  I devoured this book!


Haddix's story is fast-paced and full of suspense.  I was pulled into her world to contemplate what it would be like living in a society where free will was abolished, and cruel government policies trumped parental decision-making.  The story spurred lengthy discussions, as Sidney and I talked about the possible consequences of over-population and depletion of natural resources, both within the context of the book and in our real lives.  I reminded her that the book was purely fictional, but that the themes of restricted free will and strict government control were valid topics to consider.


We are both working our way through the rest of the seven book series.  The titles of all the Shadow books are:


Among the Hidden
Among the Imposters
Among the Betrayed
Among the Barons
Among the Brave
Among the Enemy
Among the Free

Among the Hidden, as well as the other books in the Shadow series, is recommended for children in grades 5-8 (reading level 9-12).

Please be sure to visit the next blog on today's Spread the Awesome blog series:

the lovely B.J. Anderson

For a list of all bloggers participating in today's Spread the Awesome series, CLICK HERE!

~Before You Go!~

It's contest time!  There are seven books in Margaret Peterson Haddix's Shadow series.  I'm giving away one new copy of Among the Hidden AND a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble, to get you started on the rest of the collection (or any another book of your choice!).

~To ENTER~

You must be a follower :)  Simply leave me a comment below AND leave B.J. a comment on her blog!  Drawing will be Friday, May 7th at noon, EST. Winner will be announced shortly after.

Everyone is eligible to win, including Spread the Awesome participants!

Different Methods for Different Writers

I've been reading blogs this morning, and have decided not to write my own post.  Instead, I'd like to promote a wonderful series happening today, started by the always entertaining Tawna Fenske at Don't Pet Me, I'm Writing.

Tawna's readers have asked what her writing methods are.  In response, she enlisted the help of five other writing bloggers, and the six of them have each written a post describing their personal approach to a novel, from curser blinking on a blank page to "The End" on the final draft.  I found their methods fascinating in their similarities and their differences.

For inspiring insight into the methods of other writers, check out these participating blogs today:

Tawna Fenske
Sean Ferrell
Cynthia Reese
Linda Grimes
Nelsa Roberto
Kiersten White

Have a wonderful weekend!

No Such Thing As Failure

How do you measure success as a writer?  Certainly, there are milestones an author reaches that confirms success:  securing agent representation; publishing a book or short story; being paid for your work; etc.  But what if you haven't yet reached any of those milestones?  What does success mean then?


I believe every draft is a success, even unfinished stories.  Each time I sit down and write, I learn a little more about the craft.  I may only have one gem sentence in 500 words, or one interesting character out of a cast of five, but that sentence or character is worthy of success.


My current WiP is my "starter novel."  I've said from the get-go that my goal is to finish it, learning the process along the way.  I believe I'll one day write a novel worthy of publication, but it's probably not this one.  I'm struck by both comfort and stress in this statement.  Comfort because it gives me the freedom to just write, but stress because writing a novel takes a lot of time and energy.  Sometimes I ask myself, am I wasting my time?


I read an interesting article on Writer's Digest.com by John Smolens that answered that question for me.  In "There's No Such Thing as a Failed Story," Smolens says, "For every five completed rough drafts, you’re lucky if you find one that you can develop into a finished short story, one that you feel is as good as it can be, one that you feel is ready to be sent out to editors."


Not only did this article reassure me about my current project, it provided a couple a-ha moments about writing in general.  Smolens talked about his mentor, the late Andre Dubois: "Most fiction writers, [Dubois] believed, are .200 hitters, meaning they hit successfully twice out of every 10 at-bats...For every five stories you send out, you’re lucky if one of them is accepted for publication." (Quote taken from same article.)  Having penned thirty-two short stories in the past two years, I can say with certainty that although I'm pleased with most of my work, there is only about twenty percent I would consider great stories.  And of those six, I've only had one accepted for print publication (and two more submitted that I'm waiting to hear back on).


From this article, I now realize I don't have to polish my current WiP, once the first draft is complete.  If, at that time, I don't feel the story is strong enough to peddle to agents, then I will move on to the next project with confidence that I'm not short-changing myself in any way.  I'm simply moving forward in my craft.




Published authors:  Have you written significantly more stories than you have sold?  Aspiring authors:  Does it encourage or discourage you to hear a successful writer say the majority of work by all fiction writers is unpublishable ?

TAGGED!!!!

I've been tagged in this fun Q&A game.  Fun!  Thanks to two of my blogging friends who thought of me after filling out the questionnaire below:  Brindle Chase enjoys writing paranormal erotic romances.  Visit her blog today!  And, Christine Danek of Christine's Journey also tagged me.  I love Christine's blog; it's one of my daily must-reads.  Pop over and visit her today, too!


The rules in this fab game are to answer 5 questions, 5 times, and then tag 5 other bloggers.  So here we go:


Question 1: Where were you five years ago?

1. Living in our tiny, "starter" house, dreaming of walk-in closets, pantries, and garages.
2. At my baby sister's wedding -- and just six weeks ago we welcomed their first child into the world!
3. Working out at the stupidist YMCA on the planet.  Group prayer was mandatory before every aerobics class.  Too bad if you were Hindu or Jewish or any other religion...  Oh, and we weren't allowed to say "Namaste" at the end of yoga classes.  Outrageous.
4. On the mall in Washington D.C. for the National Fourth of July fireworks, which were nothing short of spectacular!
5. Visiting Ground Zero in New York.  I'll never forget the silence.


Question 2: Where would you like to be five years from now?

1. Finishing my second novel, the first that I'll try to sell.
2. Querying agents for representation.
3. Writing from various locations on my super-duper MacBook (that I'd better have in five years!)
4. Debt-free.
5. On an exotic island celebrating twenty years of marriage with my wonderful husband.


Question 3: What is (was) on your to-do list today?

1. Write.
2. Get a haircut (It looks fab, in case you were wondering :)  *check*
3. Buy a couple tee shirts at Target. *check*
4. Wash laundry.  *crickets*
5. Pay bills. *check*


Question 4: What five snacks do you enjoy?

1. Chocolate
2. Cascadian Farms Organic Granola Bars (especially Mixed Nuts)
3. Plain, fat-free yogurt with granola sprinkled on top.
4. Apples and peanut butter
5. Homemade chocolate chip cookies....or just the batter


Question 5: What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Go to the mall for a full day buying whatever I wanted without EVER looking at a price tag.
2. Buy the most expensive MacBook on the market.
3. Pay for education costs for all my children, nieces and nephews, for as long as they want to be in school.
4. Buy a beach house, a mountain house, a dessert house, and an apartment in Manhattan.
5. Create a not-for-profit company that builds and outfits schools, hospitals, and homes in African countries.


TAG!  You people are IT:


Jai Josh, for wearing a low-cut shirt for Cleveage Day
Justine Dell, for helping us all be better at grammar
Magically Ordinary, for sharing with us "Words of wisdom...
A fact of life...after Monday and Tuesday, even the calendar says W T F."

Charity Bradford, for busting a move on her blog today!

Talli Roland, 'cause her novel is ACCEPTED for PUBLICATION!!!!!

Open Wide

I submitted myself today to the semiannual joy of professional teeth cleaning.  In wrapping up her gig, the hygienist handed me a new toothbrush and sample floss, and I noticed the angry, purple dents along the sides of my fingers where my vice-like grip of entwined digits pitted bone against bone.  My shoulders, only now beginning to relax, ache to the blades.  I've sworn off coffee and red wine.  Damn them and the stains they leave behind.  My dentist is wonderful, but I won't miss her these next six months.

A new dentist's sign went up in a neighboring town, on the opposite end of the recently constructed plaza that houses a just-opened Mexican restaurant.  The new dental offices look clean, sleek and modern, from the outside, of course.  I won't step foot inside, so I will never be able to comment on the office interior or on the good dentist's services.  Why, you ask?  Because according to the sign, the dentist's name is Justin Payne, DDS.

Justin Payne?  Really?  As in:  Just In Pain?  Who in their right mind goes to a dentist with a name like that?  For that matter, what man chooses dentistry with a name like that!  If it had been me, and I was passionate about working inside the general public's mouthes, I would at least use only my first initial.  J. Payne, Super Dentist.  Throw in the middle initial even: J.S/T/W/P/Whatever it is. Payne.

Whether it's fair or not, names give us immediate impressions of the people who bear them.  Choosing character names for fiction is a fun and delicate business for this reason.  I once participated in a workshop on Characterization, and we spent a session discussing character names.  We were given an interesting assignment to open creative doors and raise awareness where names are concerned.  I'll print the assignment here, and anyone who wishes to give it a go should do so before reading the rest of this post, where I'll include my own answers:


Typically, all characters have at least a first name. Because of our own experiences, cultural or social background, age, etc., we often hold opinions about certain names. Names can suggest courage, sophistication, clownishness, intelligence, sex, race, class, religion etc. Here is a little exercise. Tell me what the names below mean to you, what we might deduce about the character.


1) Loyd (the author spelled the character’s name incorrectly for a reason, why would she do this?)
2) Marie Huguenot (this one is tricky)
3) Dr. Selim Sengor
4) Zeph
5) Colin Glass
6) Colie Bluestone

Note: The workshop was offered in 2008 through a writers group I belong to called Rising Stars.  The workshop leader's handle was Purivada, and I'm crediting this exercise to her, although I don't know whether she is the original author or not.  She has been an inactive member of WDC since May 2008, but you can view samples of her writing HERE.

My answers to this exercise in January 2008 were:

I love thinking about characters' names. Here are my immediate thoughts about these:

Loyd ~ He wants to stand out in a crowd he feels swallowed up in. He lacks self-confidence even though he has talents hidden in his heart.

Marie Huguenot ~ Married a wealthy man, keeping her in the social class she is accustomed to.

Dr. Selim Sengor ~ Brilliant man who was unable to prosper in the poor country he grew up in. Worked hard to get an education abroad, but doesn't see the respect he deserves in the eyes of his peers.

Zeph ~ Spiritually guided man who marches to the beat of his own drum. Regarded as a throwback but enjoys the edge he feels this gives him as a nonconformist.

Colin Glass ~ Work-a-holic who plays by the rules, striving for what he's been told defines 'success', but is emotionally shallow and out of touch in interpersonal relationships.

Colie Bluestone ~ Hhmmmmm ... Not sure. The only visual I'm getting is being played by Matthew Mcconaughey.

Do you enjoy finding names that represent, or contradict, your characters' personalities?  Do you find you change characters' names as your MS progresses and you learn more about them?  Do you hate the dentist?